Resilience and Depressive Symptomatology in Adolescents: The Moderator Effect of Psychosocial Functioning

Abstract

Depression is a serious health problem, especially in adolescence. Several variables can arise as risk or protective factors in different contexts, promoting a good or bad adjustment. The main goal is to identify if variables like resilience and psychosocial functioning are related to depression in adolescence. Additionally, gender differences in these variables are explored. This study aims to analyze the predictive effect of Resilience and Psychosocial Functioning on Depressive Symptoms, and verify the moderating effects of Psychosocial Functioning, and its areas, on Resilience in the same prediction. The sample consists of 406 adolescents. Two questionnaires were used: the Childrens Depression Inventory (CDI, Kovacs, 1985; Portuguese version: Marujo, 1994), and the Resilience Scale-13 (Pinheiro Matos, 2013), Portuguese version of the RS-14 (Wagnild Young, 2009). The interview Adolescent Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation (A-LIFE, Keller et al., 1993; Portuguese version: Matos Costa, 2011) was also applied. Results revealed that both Resilience and Psychosocial Functioning were predictors of Depressive Symptomatology.Thus, adolescents with higher levels of Resilience showed less Depressive Symptomatology, as did adolescents with better Psychosocial Functioning. Global Psychosocial Functioning was a moderator of Resilience only in males, although some of its areas showed moderating effects for the whole sample or just for females. These results emphasized the relevance of Psychosocial Functioning and Resilience in the adolescents’ Depressive Symptomatology and suggested the importance of developing depression prevention programs specifically focused on improving Resilience and Psychosocial Functioning.